Alice Paul continued her effort to
counter recent negative newspaper publicity about the National Woman's
Party, writing to Heywood Broun, noted journalist from the New York
World. Broun was probably the author of the original article that
stirred
up the current controversy.

Paul took issue with virtually every
factual statement in the original article and put quite a different spin
on the events of that afternoon. She seems, though, more like a defense
attorney here, than a person concerned about what actually happened.
Clearly,
the father of Inez Milholland had been upset, and the refusal to permit
African Americans to participate fully in the memorial service was the
root of his concern. Paul argued that no speakers were planned at the grave
site. Yet, only whites had spoken at the memorial service at the
local church, and this had not escaped notice. The controversy over what
happened at the service and what was said subsequently is reminiscent of
the controversy surrounding Alice Paul's March 1919 speech in South Carolina
which was discussed by Walter White in document 1 above.
Whatever the specific
facts of the two incidents, both turned on the same issue, the policy of
the National Woman's Party toward equal rights for African Americans and
its impact on the party's organizing efforts in the South.

August 26, 1924

COPY

Mr. Heywood Broun
New York World
New York, N.Y.

Dear Mr. Broun:

I have read your statement that the
Woman's Party "did not want a Negro to speak at the grave of Inez
Milholland" and am writing to give you the facts.

The pilgrimage to the grave of Inez
Milholland was organized by the Woman's Party. It consisted almost entirely
of Woman's Party members who had worked with Inez in the suffrage fight,
although we also invited her family and friends to accompany us. We arranged
a very simple ceremony of music and singing, and, at the urgent request
of a member of Inez's family we arranged to have no speakers at the grave.

Shortly before the service began, Mr.
Milholland, the father of Inez, told us that he had invited Mr. Scott a
distinguished Negro, to speak at the grave. We explained to Mr. Scott that
there were to be no speeches at the grave and asked if he would place a
wreath as the rest of us were doing, instead of making a speech. To this
suggestion he immediately acceded.

After we had placed our wreaths and
the choir was leading the procession down the hillside, Mr. Milholland
called upon Mr. Scott and Mrs. Hunton, secretary of the Association for
the Advancement of Negroes, to speak. The Woman's Party members listened
with courtesy to these two speakers and at the conclusion expressed
appreciation
to them of what they had said. These two Negroes were the
only speakers
at the grave.

At this point I want to make clear
that these two speakers did not intentionally break into our service. They
came to the pilgrimage, we understand, under the impression that it had
been organized by the Milholland family, that speeches were to be made
at the grave dealing with various political, social and economic movements
with which Inez had been connected and that they were to represent upon
this occasion the movement for the advancement of Negroes. As soon as they
learned that the memorial at the grave was a Woman's Party memorial, that
it was to commemorate the service of Inez in the suffrage cause, and that
there were to be no speakers, they fell in with these plans and would not
have spoken had they not been publicly called upon to do so.

I would like, before concluding, to
take up two statements which you make. You write: 'They did not want a
Negro to speak at the grave of Inez Milholland, because, as Mrs. Greta
Wold Boyer explained, 'We want to try and elect some congressmen in Southern
States.'" This statement was not made by Mrs. Boyer and could not
have been made because we are not trying to elect congressmen
in any Southern
State.

You attribute the following statement
to me: "This was arranged as a demonstration of women and it was no
place for colored people to speak." With regard to colored people
as speakers, we arranged as I have already said, to have no speakers, and
the question of color of speakers was never discussed by us.

The Woman's Party is made up of women
of all races, creeds and nationalities who are united on the one program
of working to raise the status of women. In our organization there is
absolutely
no discrimination with regard to race, creed or nationality. If we had
planned to have speakers on this occasion, the question of their race would
not have been considered in selecting them.

We are sorry that this controversy
has arisen over our effort to honor one of our fellow-workers. I think
that all the women of the Woman's Party who went upon this pilgrimage did
so with the single desire of expressing their affection for Inez. They
had no thought of political effect or expediency in what they were doing
and greatly regret that the effort has been made to use this pilgrimage
against the interest of the woman's cause to which Inez gave her life.